Heart Teachings by Lama Tharchin Rinpoche

A Precious Gift: Practicing with Lama Tharchin Rinpoche

~ DudjomTersarNgondro

This week our sangha observed the 13th Dechö (Parinirvana) Anniversary of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche—a time to remember with deep gratitude the immeasurable kindness he showed in establishing the Dudjom lineage in the West and in guiding so many students onto the path of awakening.

Although Lama Tharchin Rinpoche is no longer with us in physical form, his wisdom, blessings, and compassionate activity continue to reach us in countless ways. One of the most direct is through the recordings he left behind.

For those engaged in the Ngondro, listening to Rinpoche chant these sacred liturgies is much more than hearing a beautiful recitation. It is an opportunity to connect directly with the living lineage. His voice carries the confidence, devotion, and realization of a master who practiced these teachings throughout his life and transmitted them with boundless compassion.

We are deeply fortunate that these precious recordings have been lovingly preserved by Libby Luning through the Heart Teachings of Lama Tharchin project. Thanks to her years of dedication, students today—and for generations to come—can continue to hear Rinpoche’s voice and receive the inspiration of his teachings.

Many of these recordings are available through a monthly subscription to Heart Teachings of Lama Tharchin, while others can be accessed freely through SoundCloud, Vimeo, and YouTube. These archives are an extraordinary treasure for anyone wishing to deepen their connection with Lama Tharchin Rinpoche and the Dudjom lineage.

Today, we share a treasured recording of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche chanting the Concise Dudjom Tersar Ngondro. Click below to listen. 

For those who are practicing the Ngondro, hearing Rinpoche chant these sacred liturgies is more than simply listening to beautiful recitation. It is an opportunity to connect with the living lineage. His voice carries the cadence, devotion, and confidence of a realized master who practiced these teachings throughout his life and offered them so generously to others.

Whether you chant along with the recording, use it to support your daily practice, or simply listen with a heart of devotion, may it strengthen your connection to the lineage and inspire your own path.

As we remember Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, may we honor his legacy in the way he most encouraged us: by practicing sincerely, cultivating bodhicitta, and recognizing the inseparability of the guru’s wisdom mind from our own.

May hearing his voice be a source of inspiration, bring blessings to your practice and deepen your connection to the Dudjom lineage.

With heartfelt gratitude to our precious teacher.

A heartfelt thank you goes to Libby Luning, whose devotion and tireless work have made it possible for Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s voice and teachings to remain available to students around the world. Her dedication has become an invaluable service to the Dudjom lineage and to all who cherish Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s teachings.

About the recording:
Lama Tharchin Rinpoche recites the Concise Dudjom Tersar Ngondro according to the melody he originally taught the sangha at Pema Osel Ling. This recording was made in the mid-1990s to guide sangha in reciting the practices from Vajrayana Foundation’s original Daily Practice Book.

© Lama Tharchin Rinpoche and Vajrayana Foundation;
2023 LTRHF and Heart Teachings by Lama Tharchin Rinpoche

 

If the Dzogchen view is like a fire, the preliminary practices are like the wood that feeds the fire…

~ DudjomTersarNgondro
An offering from Heart Teachings by Lama Tharchin for Guru Rinpoche Day, June 5th, 

Wishing you an auspicious and Happy Guru Rinpoche Day!

“The preliminary practices are truly the foundation of all our Dharma practice. [In Dzogchen,] we have this very high view, but everything is based on the preliminary practices. If the Dzogchen view is like a fire, the preliminary practices are like the wood that feeds the fire. They are only going to help your realization of Dzogchen.

As you practice the preliminary practices, you’ll have greater faith in the Three Jewels. Your belief in and attention to karma, to cause and effect, will grow. You’ll develop greater compassion for sentient beings. All of these qualities will increase within your mind. You’ll cultivate the two accumulations [of merit and wisdom]. You’ll purify your mind, and the wisdom realization of your lama will shift to your mind, and you will discover your own indwelling, original enlightenment, that which has always existed. You will not attain an enlightenment coming from outside of you, but rather discover the original enlightenment already within you, through the process of these preliminary practices.

Why are there so few good practitioners these days? Why do they have so many obstacles? It’s through not having taken the Four Thoughts that Turn the Mind—the precious human birth, impermanence, karma’s cause and effect, and the sufferings of samsara—to heart. So many obstacles are coming from that alone. Therefore, it is essential to take these Four Thoughts to heart. You can read about them in “The Words of my Perfect Teacher” and so many other texts on the preliminary practices. This point is really so essential.”

– Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, Annual Trekchod Retreat, Spring 2007
Image from Heart Teachings video, Pema Osel Ling, March 24, 2007

 

2016 Annual Summer Retreat with Chakung Jigme Wangdrak Rinpoche and Gyepa Rinpoche 

Due to the Vajrayana Foundation’s annual Summer Retreat, the monthly Dudjom Ngondro schedule will be temporarily adjusted. We warmly invite you to join us for this special retreat—either in person at Pema Osel Ling or via livestream. It’s a wonderful opportunity to deepen your connection to the Dudjom Tersar lineage and engage in transformative practice with our sangha.

As part of the June Ngondro Program offerings, participants will receive streaming links for the following events:

• Troma Ngondro Accumulation Sessions

Two sessions daily, June 9–11

9:00–10:45 AM and 2:30–4:15 PM (PDT)

• Collection of Seven Treasures: Guru Rinpoche Empowerment

June 27, 9:00 AM–12:00 PM (PDT)

Bestowed by His Holiness Kyabje Dungse Namgyal Dawa Rinpoche

• Collection of Seven Treasures: First Teaching of eight

June 28, beginning at 11:45 AM (PDT)

Please watch your email for access details.

The Vajrayana Foundation 36th Annual Summer Retreat offerings:

June 2 – 7: Tseyang Khatrod — Six days of practice focused on the profound liberation instructions of Tseyang Khatrod, emphasizing clarity and fearless awareness. Learn More

June 12 – 20: Troma Nagmo — A nine-day immersion in the fierce compassion of Troma Nagmo, revealing the clarity of mind through cutting attachment. Learn More

June 23 – July 2: Shitro — A complete cycle of practice for the peaceful and wrathful deities, supporting the living and the dead through the bardo. Learn More

July 5 – 13: Guru Rinpoche Drupchen — A powerful group ritual invoking Guru Rinpoche to generate vast merit and awaken compassion through mantra, mudra, and sacred sound. Learn More

Lama Tsedrup Tharchin Rinpoche 1936-2013

~ DudjomTersarNgondro
Pema Dechen and Drubpon Pema Rigdzin standing next to Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s Throne in the Shrineroom at the Pema Osel Ling Retreat Center in the Santa Cruz Mountains, California

Lama Tharchin Rinpoche was a beloved Dzogchen master of the Dudjom Tersar tradition of the Nyingma school of Vajrayana Buddhism and the tenth family lineage holder of the Repkong Ngakmang in Amdo, the largest community of yogi and lay tantric practitioners in Tibet. The Repkong ngakpas were revered throughout the region for their realization and ability to benefit others through the power of their tantric practice. (continue to read at https://www.heartteachings.com/pages/about-us). Lama Tharchin Rinpoche entered parinirvana on July 22, 2013

This year, on Rinpoche’s 10th Solar Parinirvana Anniversary, Saturday, July 22, Jnanasukha Foundation is offering  a day of community, practice and teaching beginning at 9:00 am with Lama Dechen Yeshe Wangmo, and students of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche. For more information, to see the schedule of events and to connect to join this commemorative event, visit: https://www.jnanasukha.org/ltr-10th-parinirvana-event

Chakung Wangdrak Rinpoche (Spiritual Director of the Abhaya Fellowship) will give a teaching from 10am – noon on “The Ngakpa Tradition: Stories and a Teaching in Honor of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche, ” hosted by the Abhaya Fellowship. You can find the login information using this link on The Heart Teachings by Lama Tharchin website:

On August 1st, the Lunar Anniversary date, the Vajrayana Foundation is offering a day of practice, by livestream or to attend in person at the Pema Osel Ling Retreat Center, the Dorsem Lama Chopa Offering of the Lama in the Form of Vajrasattva puja and tsok. For more information and to receive live stream links, visit: https://www.vajrayana.org/events/242/

Following herein in three versions: English, Tibetan and by Rinpoche’s hand, we want to re-share Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s ShalChem, Final Words of Advice. Lama Tharchin Rinpoche requested Pema Dechen to give his Final Words of Advice to people after he passed.

finaleng

finaltib

finalhand

“Responding to the requests of students, Lama Tharchin Rinpoche established Heart Teachings in 2000 (as Friends of Lama Tharchin Rinpoche) and began producing monthly Dharma teaching videos to support the practice of his many heart friends. Rinpoche used this opportunity to offer precise instruction on the view, meditation, action, and result of the vajrayana path, focusing on presenting detailed guidance for many of the most important practices of our Dudjom Tersar lineage.  Rinpoche’s video series provided us, wherever we were, with a way to connect with Rinpoche each month, helped support Rinpoche’s personal retreats, and allowed us to compile a vast library capturing Rinpoche’s unique wisdom heritage. Following Rinpoche’s instructions, after his passing into parinirvana on July 22, 2013, we have continued collecting, cataloging, preserving, and making available Lama Tharchin Rinpoche’s Vajrayana Buddhist legacy of teachings, practice and ritual traditions, writings and art, stemming particularly from the Nyingma and Dudjom Tersar yogi traditions.

Rinpoche’s teachings encompass a wide range of topics from Vajrayana Buddhism, including the foundational preliminary practices, our most common Dudjom Tersar sadhana practices, and Dzogchen. Suitable for beginning to advanced practitioners, Rinpoche’s heart advice will illuminate spiritual practice in any tradition.

Since the Heart Teachings’ inception, our monthly subscribers have formed the heart of support and continue to be an essential element of, and inspiration for, our work.”

Click here to join the Heart Teaching by Lama Tharchin as a monthly subscriber.